For example, in an elongated rod-like member 51 such as a handle of a cleaning tool 50 shown in FIG. 12, a handle of a stick and the like is occasionally formed by connecting a plurality of circular sleeve-like pipes 52 having a predetermined length integrally in an axial direction. As a structure of a connecting portion 53 for integrally connecting the circular sleeve-like pipes 52, for example, there is known a structure in which a female screw element having a female screw on an internal peripheral surface thereof is attached to an opening in each end portion of, a pair of circular sleeve-like pipes 52, 52 to be connected together and the pair of female screw elements are placed in opposing relation to each other and a male screw element having a male screw on an outer peripheral surface thereof is threadingly engaged with the two female screw elements so that the pair of circular sleeve-like pipes 52, 52 are integrally joined.
According to a structure of the above-mentioned conventional connecting portion 53, in addition to the threading engagement between the female screw elements and the male screw element, the male screw is prevented from getting loosened by frictional force between end faces of the male and female screw elements abutted with each other in opposing relation. Accordingly, when a bending stress is applied to the connecting portion 53, a gap is generated between the abutting end faces. As a result, a frictional force is no longer obtained and the threading engagement relation between the female screw elements and the male screw elements tends to be loosened. Moreover, the connecting portion 53 is bent and readily broken. Besides, according to a structure of the conventional connecting portion 53, the structure is complicated.
Moreover, according to a structure of the conventional connecting portion 53, since the pair of circular sleeve-like pipes 52, 52 are connected by threadingly engaging the male screw element with the female screw elements, the work for integrally connecting the pipes necessitates time and labor. Particularly, a connecting operation in a dark place becomes difficult.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a pipe connecting structure and a cleaning tool using the pipe connecting structure, in which a connecting portion can effectively be prevented from being loosened and broken even in the case where a bending stress is applied thereto and in which a pair of sleeve-like pipes can easily be connected integrally in an axial direction with a simple structure.
Another object of the present invention is to provided a pipe connecting structure and a cleaning tool using the pipe connecting structure, in which a pair of sleeve-like pipes can easily be connected integrally in an axial direction by means of a simple operation and in which a connecting operation can be performed smoothly even in a dark place.
A further object of the present invention is to provide a pipe connecting structure and a cleaning tool using the pipe connecting structure, in which an integrally connected pair of sleeve-like pipes can smoothly be disassembled.